T - Up front some malts that are very sweet followed by a really nasty sticky dusty caramle flavour. Urgh

M - Light to medium body and medium carbonation

O - This misses the mark by a long way to me. Way too thin, a really unpleasent aroma, and the flavour is all over the place. When I think of Dubbles I think Achel Bruin and Rochefort 8. It would be a gross injustice to mention this beer in the same breath. This brewery are a bunch of jokers to me. They consistently fail to get better. A few years ago they brewed a Tripel and Saison special editions. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and applauded there vision to attempt such beers. They can no longer hide behind that banner, because so many other craft breweries some of which have been in existence for a lot less time have left them for dead. What is a real shame is that they had one of the best young brewers in the country and let him walk out the door ! (1,074 characters)

I guess BA has added .25s and .75s to the rating system since I last wrote a review. I'm usually drunk enough at the time I write these that it is confusing enough. Gosh.

Anyways, I was surprisingly impressed with Gage Roads' last limited offering (The Convict) so I figured I'd give this one a bash too, in spite of it being a style I don't necessarily like (not dubbel but rather the bastard watery chocolate beer I imagined it to be, and that there is a bit of nowadays). Translucent amber with bugger-all head, smells of cooking chocolate with a vague hint of fruit (passionfruit?) and nothing much else.

Doesn't taste like much on first sip. A big watery nothing with a bit of caramel and a finish of cheap chocolate, cocoa powder, sweet soy sauce and partially-suppressed fart. The whole thing is basically wrong. (823 characters)

Another Gage Roads limited release: Abstinence, something if you have ever read my reviews would realise that I'm not good at. At least it's just the name of the beer and not something one has to go through to drink it, I would fail. Miserably.

Poured from a 640ml bottle into a St Feuillien chalice.

A: The body presents a clear earthy sienna with a light wisp of cream coloured lacing on top. No complaints here, Dubbel's usually have a weak head anyhow.

T: Sweet caramel upfront, follows through to a dusty Cadburyesque cocoa, then more sugar - like candi sugar, and finishes slightly dry. Hops? None that one could tell. Flavour is sweet, dessert beer sweet, with none of the finesse or style of an actual Belgian Dubbel. Also for a chocolate beer this actually tastes more like caramel than chocolate.

M: Medium bodied, dense carbonation and that chocolate dustiness comes through in the mouthfeel as well.

D: 'Complex robust decadent' the bottle label proclaims. It is none of those. 'Sweet dusty average' would be a more realistic claim. That being said I like that Gage have made an attempt at something unique, much like The Convict, this is a good direction which I wholeheartedly encourage from all Aussie brewers. Hopefully we see more of this spirit, and a little more finesse from Gage, then they will get there - the beer sweet-spot that Belgium has dominated for so long.

Food match: Desserts of course, that being said I found this brew to be leaning more towards caramel flavours so a decent creme broulee or banoffe pie would work better versus a chocolate fondant or a parfait. (1,701 characters)

A new limited release brewed with Ghanaian chocolate and fair trade cold extract coffee,love the artwork on label and pours a bronze with a two finger head and sporadic lacing,the smell is just like a chocolate eclair with caramel and fruity hops,the mouthfeel is medium bodied and over carbonated with tastes of that chocolate you first smell followed by the slightest and I mean slightest hit of milky coffee followed by the noble hops and overall it's average and I know they claim its a Dubbel but it has a lot of work to do cheers. (536 characters)

Appearance: pours an intense auburn-brown with a solid one-finger off-white head. Reasonable retention and some lacing. Drops to a film with solid ring after around a minute.

Aroma: smells quite sweetly of milk chocolate with some spices.

Taste: a combination of strong - almost pungent - cocoa and a smooth caramel with those spices along for the ride, though I can't put my finger on them. Cardamon? Not sure.

Aftertaste: drops off pretty quickly, but still a nice flavour profile.

Mouth feel: medium in body with moderate carbonation. Carries the flavour well, but I almost think it could do with a slightly heavier body.

Overall: a very interesting take on the chocolate beer - something very different. Half-way between a milk stout and a Belgian heavy. Nice - definitely worth the price tag of AU$6.80 a bottle, equivalent to 24 x 330mL for AU$75 a case (2013). (974 characters)

ive seen this beer drop in price the past few months, and picked in up on clearance at the local bottleshop for $4. While this doesn't inspire confidence, Ive enjoyed other gage road beers (such as the convict), and at this price, what is there to lose?

s - sweet dark cocoa, slight maltiness, would actually be a nice smell for a candle

t - straight out of the fridge, this does not taste good - think dark cooking chocolate, overly sweet, but with a tarty finish. Letting it warm up a bit, some of the sweet malt flavours comes through. Not as much alcohol as other ales of similar ABV, maybe masked by the chocolate.

m - a tad watery, light to medium body, lively carbonation at first.

o - definitely different. much better if warmed up with the choc less pronounced, and it grew on me as it did so. Interesting effort, but i don't think the chocolate and high alcohol content go together all that well. at this price, well worth a try, esp if in winter months (1,073 characters)